Written by Evan Daugherty
and Geneva Robertson-Dworet based on the video game by Crystal Dynamics.

Directed by Roar Uthaug.

GRADE: B

REVIEW:

I have often lamented the fact that almost all movies based
on video games stink. I have a few ideas why, but I think the biggest problem
is trying to fit a compelling narrative that matches the gaming experience. When
the first Tomb Raider video game was released in the mid-to-late 90s, there
were two factors that contributed to its runaway success: adventurous gameplay
and smoking hot, scantily-clad main female character (Lara Croft). Tapping into
the young male demographic has been the main driving force behind most video successful
games ever since. Such hormonal influencers made Angelina Jolie the perfect fit
to play the Croft in first two movies based on the game series in 2001 and
2003. Jolie’s films were a moderate success, but did not match the popularity
of the video games. Now comes another incarnation of Lara Croft in this week’s
release of Tomb Raider, starring
Alicia Vikander as the adventurous heiress.

Croft is the daughter of Lord Richard Croft (Dominic West),
a billionaire archeologist who goes missing on a mission to find the tomb of Himiko,
an ancient Japanese goddess of death, thought to carry the power to end all
life on Earth. In the year’s following her dad’s disappearance, Lara avoids her
family’s wealth, opting for a sporty lifestyle of boxing, biking, archery and
climbing (comes in handy later). When she’s arrested during an illegal street
bike race, Lara is summoned by Ana (Kristin Scott Thomas) her father’s business
associate, to sign a death certificate, completing her inheritance. Before
signing, Lara is given a finger puzzle containing a key that leads to her
father’s underground research facility, where she gets answers to where he’s
been. Ignoring a video message to destroy all documents regarding Himiko, Lara
sets off for Hong Kong, where she hires Lu Ren (Daniel Wu) to take her to the
island on his boat. When they arrive, the boat crashes on the shores of the
island and they are taken captive by the evil Vogel (Walton Goggins) who works
for an evil corporation after Himiko’s destructive powers. Lara escapes Vogel,
and…

>>>Spoiler alert<<<

…finds her bearded father hiding in the jungle, who explains
what’s going on. Since Lara brought her dad’s research book with her Vogel now
knows where to find the long-hidden entrance to Himiko’s tomb. Lara tries to
stop Vogle, who captures her dad and forces her to lead a team of militants
into the tomb, where all kinds of trap and snares await. Vogel and Dad
accompany, and when they arrive at Himiko’s casket, they discover the real
“power” of the goddess, which leads to deadly confrontation and equally
dangerous escape.

When comparing Tomb
Raider to other video game film adaptations, this new reboot has a few
advantages over previous failures. First, there doesn’t seem to
be much correlation between the video games and the story, other than the
names. Then, there’s Vikander, who is indeed beautiful, but much less of a
cosplay fodder, hormone-inducing Barbie doll packing heat that has been
showcased in the early games and films. She’s smarter, wears more clothing, and
doesn’t sport any guns (until a bonus scene during the end credits). In short,
her most prominent feature isn’t D-cups under a cut-off tank top and
short-shorts. Stripping away the tawdry makes the new Lara Croft more of a
relatable action hero for today’s young audiences, unlike the legions of
prepubescent boys who grew up ogling at the character, game controllers in hand.

While promoting a more PC version of Croft seems natural
considering all the conflict over the contemporary sexualizing of women and
efforts to overcome such issues, Tomb
Raider is not up to par with other action-adventure films like Raiders of
the Lost Ark. Yes, there is tension and action, but the weak storytelling,
errant pacing, uninspiring dialogue and silly stunts come across as nothing
new. Even with these clichés, Tomb Raider
is good enough for a little escapism, but I’m certain you won’t remember much
about it after a few days.